World Cup 2010 African Qualifiers Set To Lose Big Guns
With another few rounds of qualifiers to be played this weekend in football’s 2010 World Cup, fans will be glued to the various match-ups that might spell the end of many countries’ campaign. Nowhere will this be brought to the fore more so than in Africa, where the reputations and qualifying hopes of many major nations could be destroyed even before they have proceeded to the second stage. If the scenarios end with more upsets than expected results, the World Cup in South Africa could see a very different group of African nations playing for the region’s pride, compared to previous editions.
While the hosts South Africa might end up bottom of their group, they are exempted from having to qualify for the tournament. But their disastrous campaign means that they will now miss the African Nations Cup in the same year, for which the qualifying process is based on the same World Cup setup. It is a complicated and confusing system which perhaps only FIFA can explain, but the countries will comply just the same. It has also exposed the deficiencies in quality and standard in the South Africans, who must now undergo a drastic improvement within two years if they hope to avoid humiliation in front of their own fans.
Giants of African football that are on the brink of elimination this weekend include Angola, Ghana, Algeria, Senegal, and Morocco. Perhaps the countries most in danger are Angola and Senegal, with the former having fallen from grace in such drastic pace. Just two World Cups ago, Angola was considered one of the strongest African footballing nations, with many notable star players gracing some of the most famous clubs around the year 2006. They qualified for the World Cup in 2006, but four years on, Angola are on the verge of a first round knockout in the qualifiers. If they fail to qualify after this weekend, Angola will be left to ponder what next in their national football team's development.
Senegal will always be remembered for their defeat of world and European champions France in the opening game of World Cup 2002. It was a sensational result that was based on a group of honest players who were hardly heard of outside the country, in stark contrast to the numerous household names in the French team, most notably Zinedine Zidane. While they conquered their former colonial masters on the sporting field, Senegal will look back at the past and present French teams to imagine what might have been. Many aspiring Senegalese footballers have gone on to play for France at international levels. This has robbed the African nation of many natural talents, which perhaps partly explains their current decline. While Senegal might still qualify for the next round after this weekend, it speaks volumes of the lack of talent development that they are struggling in a group which includes Gambia and Liberia.
With the potential of major upsets lurking round the corner in the qualifiers this weekend, the world of football will be watching the many live online streaming World Cup football matches as fans keep scores. Who will join the likes of Ivory Coast, Cameroon and African champions Egypt in the next intriguing qualifying round, and who will have to start from scratch and plan for 2014 next? Fans of football cannot wait to find out what happens next.